Pakistan's Lone Brewery Sets Sights On India

Isphanyar Bhandara, the head of Pakistan's only brewery, Murree Brewery, sits at his grandfather's desk at the headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. Bhandara's grandfather was a director at the brewery when Pakistan gained independence in 1947, and he bought a controlling stake in the company. The brewery has been run by the Bhandara family ever since.

Lauren Frayer for NPR

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Originally published on September 2, 2012 10:46 pm

Islamic Pakistan has just one brewery, but it has a rich history.

Bottles of beer have been rolling off Murree Brewery's assembly line since 1860, when the company was founded outside the capital Islamabad — making it Pakistan's oldest private company.

"The brewery was here before Pakistan was here," says CEO Isphanyar Bhandara.

Sitting at his grandfather's desk, he tastes new samples and describes how he ended up running a brewery in a Muslim country, where alcohol is virtually banned.

"At the time of partition, my folks decided to stay on this side of the line," says Bhandara, referring to the 1947 division that ended British colonial rule and created the separate states of India and Pakistan.

"My grandfather, who was working as a director at that time in that company, bought the controlling interest. That's how, in 1947, it came into the family, the Bhandara family," he says.

Back then, Murree Brewery sold beer and whiskey across India, even as far away as Europe and America. But as Pakistan has embraced its Muslim identity over the years, alcohol has become scarce. Exports were banned in the 1970s.

A Limited Market

Bhandara's business survives by selling to five-star hotels and Pakistani Christians, who make up about 3 percent of the population and are issued government permits to buy alcohol.

"The government decides who I sell to. I don't choose my customers," says Bhandara. "If the government gives a license to a hotel or a wine shop, I can supply that particular wine shop. Simple as that."

But a huge potential market may soon open up. The Pakistani government is lifting restrictions on alcohol exports to non-Muslim countries — the biggest and closest of which is India.

So beer, of all things, could be the trailblazing export from this Muslim country to its longtime rival next door.

"There's so many ironic situations in Pakistan. I can give you a huge list," says Muhammad Ziauddin, executive editor of Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper.

A Symbolic Step

He says beer exports would be a small but symbolic step toward normalized trade with India. At present, trade between them is extremely limited, amounting to about $1 billion a year, mostly in textiles.

While India's economy has been expanding for much of the past two decades, Pakistan's economy has continued to struggle. And the longtime rivalry, which dates back to partition and includes three wars between them, has always been an impediment to trade.

While people on both sides might not always admit it, Indians and Pakistanis share a lot, Ziauddin says.

"The tastes are almost the same," he says. "People like the same consumer items, and the middle class in India is supposed to be 300 million. So if we could get even a fraction of that market, the Pakistani economy would be booming."

Back at the brewery, the second in command is Sabih Rehman, a Pakistani army veteran who once led soldiers into battle against India in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

He brings the same patriotism that took him to war to his new job — marketing beer in his home country, where alcohol ads are not permitted.

Watching hundreds of beer bottles moving past on a conveyor belt, Rehman formulates a new attack plan for India. It involves reaching across that same troubled border, but this time, with an icy cold one in hand.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Could restoring peace between Pakistan and India come in the form of an ice cold beer? The two countries have been at odds ever since their bloody 1947 break from British rule. Now a relic from their shared past, a Raj-era beer brewery, may soon take the edge off tensions between the two countries.

NPR's Lauren Frayer visited the brewery near Pakistan's capital.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOTTLES)

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Bottles of Murree beer have been rolling off this assembly line since 1860. The brewery is Pakistan's oldest private company.

ISPHANYAR BHANDARA: The brewery was here before Pakistan was here.

FRAYER: CEO Isphanyar Bhandara sits at his grandfather's desk, tasting new samples, and describes how he ended up running a brewery in a Muslim country, where alcohol is virtually banned.

BHANDARA: At the time of partition, my folks decided to stay on this side of the line. My grandfather, who was working as a director at that time in that company, bought over the controlling interest. That's how in 1947 it came in the family, in the Bhandara family, my family.

FRAYER: Back then, Murree Brewery sold beer and whiskey across India, and as far as Europe and America. But as Pakistan has embraced its Muslim identity over the years, alcohol has become scarce. Exports were banned in the 1970s. Bhandara's business survives by selling to 5-star hotels and Pakistani Christians, who comprise about 3 percent of the population, and are issued government permits to buy alcohol.

BHANDARA: The government decides who I sell to. I don't choose my customers. If the government gives a license to a hotel or to a wine shop, I can supply that particular wine shop. Simple as that.

FRAYER: But a huge market may soon open up. The Pakistani government is lifting restrictions on alcohol exports to non-Muslim countries, the biggest and closest of which is India.

FRAYER: That beer, of all things, could be the trailblazer export from this Muslim country, to its longtime enemy next door.

MUHAMMAD ZIAUDDIN: There's so many ironic situations in Pakistan. I can give you a huge list, I guess.

(LAUGHTER)

FRAYER: Muhammad Ziauddin, executive editor of Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper, says beer exports would be a small, but symbolic step toward normalized trade with India, which currently amounts to about a billion dollars a year, mostly in textiles. And while people on both sides might not always admit it, Indians and Pakistanis share a lot, Ziauddin says.

ZIAUDDIN: The tastes are almost the same. People like the same consumer items, and the middle class in India is supposed to be about 300 million. And if we could get even a fraction of that market, the Pakistani economy would be booming.

(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINERY AND BOTTLES)

FRAYER: Back at the brewery, the second in command is Major Sabih Rehman, a Pakistani army veteran who once led soldiers into battle against India in Kashmir. He brings the same patriotism that took him to war to his new job marketing beer in his home country where alcohol advertisements are illegal.

MAJOR SABIH REHMAN: The thing is, I mean, this is my country. Murree Brewery is my country. Murree Brewery is Pakistan.

(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINERY AND BOTTLES)

FRAYER: Watching hundreds of beer bottles moving past on a conveyer belt, Major Sabih formulates a new attack plan into India. It involves reaching across that same troubled border, but this time, with an icy cold one in hand.